1. click download
2. open the project.
3. press the F11 button on your keyboard
4. ENJOY!
5. P.S: the project continues when the music stops and it is over after the bibliography.
ROMAN LEAD PROBLEMS
- Romans insisted on cooking wine syrup in lead pots, the lead would manage to seep into the syrup - Romans had lead pipes where they got their drinking water - This disease contaminated many people and contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire - Many sweeteners were cooked in lead pots, as I said before, the lead would somehow get into the sweetener. - one teaspoon of sweetener cooked in lead pots is more then enough to experience side affects. - Scientists can find out how much lead a person consumed because it shows up in their skeleton. Kristina Killgrove is an expert on looking at skeletons to find out how much lead is consumed - Lead consumption can lead to many problems with your skeletal system, your brain, and as well as your reproductive system.
- In medieval times, lead came to be used for roofing, coffins, cisterns, tanks, and gutters, and for statues and ornaments.
- The Roman's common currency, Denerii, had lead in it. - many of roman's eating utensils had lead in it.
CURRENT PROBLEMS
- many of the US houses still have lead pipes
- some paints have lead in them. this is dangerous because when the paint is sanded or stripped, lead dust can be released into the air and it is very dangerous if inhaled.
- there are lead bullets, fishing sinkers, curtain weights. - lead is sometimes found in children's paint sets and art supplies - usually storage batteries contain lead. - lead became illegal in 1978
this link has current incidents with lead poisoning.
SYMPTOMS
- If lead is consumed, it can cause Gout, a severe joint disease - lead in your body can also cause mental retardation and erratic behavior - Lead can cause slowed body growth, behavior problems, hearing problems, kidney damage, - symptoms of lead are pain and cramping, difficulty sleeping, low appitite and energy, and constipation
My name is Lena Bercz and I am a 7th grade student at Nagel Middle School. Our class is working on a project where we "go back in time" and solve the Roman Empire's problems. While I was researching, I saw that you were an expert on ancient Rome. May I ask you a few questions about lead poisoning in the Roman Empire?
1. Did the Roman government know that lead poisoning was causing a lot of the sickness and deaths? If so, did they try to stop it?
2. How much of the population of Rome was contaminated?
3. What are some possibilities that Rome could have done to prevent this problem?
4. Lead was the main ingredient in many beauty products, pipes were made of lead, so were pots, eating utensils, and aqueducts were mostly lead. Did anyone suspect this of being a problem?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Lena Bercz
ANSWERS:
1. Did the Roman government know that lead poisoning was causing a lot of the sickness and deaths? If so, did they try to stop it?
No, no one knew lead was a toxin. Even if they did, the government had no authority to tell people what they could or couldn't make cooking pots and cups out of. Your assumption that lead poisoning was 'causing a lot of the sickness and death' has no good basis in the ancient sources. Far more likely it caused lower birth rates and intelligence. I haven't seen any evidence of deaths attributed to it.
2. How much of the population of Rome was contaminated?
No one knows. The only way to find out is expensive testing of human remains on a large scale. And that hasn't been done.
3. What are some possibilities that Rome could have done to prevent this problem?
By Rome if you mean the government, I don't think there was much. Change the waterpipes from lead, but they had no control over much of the commerce across the Roman world.
4. Lead was the main ingredient in many beauty products, pipes were made of lead, so were pots, eating utensils, and aqueducts were mostly lead. Did anyone suspect this of being a problem?
Aqueducts weren't lead. Waterpipes were and some larger channels were lead. No, no one seems to have suspected it was a problem. After all they even used it as an additive in wine making. So, it seems that no one knew it was a problem. Best, Steve Tuck
SOLUTION:
To solve ancient Rome's probblem of lead poisoning. I would first let the government know that this is going on.
CITATIONS
ROME
Wilford, John Noble. "ROMAN EMPIRE'S FALL IS LINKED WITH GOUT AND LEAD POISONING." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 1983. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Lead Poisoning and Rome." Lead Poisoning and Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Powered By Osteons." Lead Poisoning in Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
CURRENT
"KidsHealth." Lead Poisoning. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
"Lead Poisoning: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
"Lead Poisoning in Pregnant Women Who Used Ayurvedic Medications from India — New York City, 2011–2012." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
My Final Project:
1. click download
2. open the project.
3. press the F11 button on your keyboard
4. ENJOY!
5. P.S: the project continues when the music stops and it is over after the bibliography.
ROMAN LEAD PROBLEMS
- Romans insisted on cooking wine syrup in lead pots, the lead would manage to seep into the syrup
- Romans had lead pipes where they got their drinking water
- This disease contaminated many people and contributed to the fall of the Roman Empire
- Many sweeteners were cooked in lead pots, as I said before, the lead would somehow get into the sweetener.
- one teaspoon of sweetener cooked in lead pots is more then enough to experience side affects.
- Scientists can find out how much lead a person consumed because it shows up in their skeleton. Kristina Killgrove is an expert on looking at skeletons to find out how much lead is consumed
- Lead consumption can lead to many problems with your skeletal system, your brain, and as well as your reproductive system.
- In medieval times, lead came to be used for roofing, coffins, cisterns, tanks, and gutters, and for statues and ornaments.
- The Roman's common currency, Denerii, had lead in it.- many of roman's eating utensils had lead in it.
CURRENT PROBLEMS
- many of the US houses still have lead pipes
- some paints have lead in them. this is dangerous because when the paint is sanded or stripped, lead dust can be released into the air and it is very dangerous if inhaled.
- there are lead bullets, fishing sinkers, curtain weights.
- lead is sometimes found in children's paint sets and art supplies
- usually storage batteries contain lead.
- lead became illegal in 1978
visit the links below to see lead effects on children
bit.ly/WFfTZf
bit.ly/WFgXMK
visit the link below to see recent lead incidents.
http://www.okinternational.org/docs/Mass%20Lead%20poisonings%20July%202012.pdf
this link has current incidents with lead poisoning.
SYMPTOMS
- If lead is consumed, it can cause Gout, a severe joint disease
- lead in your body can also cause mental retardation and erratic behavior
- Lead can cause slowed body growth, behavior problems, hearing problems, kidney damage,
- symptoms of lead are pain and cramping, difficulty sleeping, low appitite and energy, and constipation
Helpful websites:
http://penelope.uchicago.edu/~grout/encyclopaedia_romana/wine/leadpoisoning.htmlhttp://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/17/us/roman-empire-s-fall-is-linked-with-gout-and-lead-poisoning.html
http://www.poweredbyosteons.org/2012/01/lead-poisoning-in-rome-skeletal.html
http://historyoftheancientworld.com/2010/08/lead-poisoning-in-ancient-rome/
http://corrosion-doctors.org/Elements-Toxic/Lead-history.htm
Dear Dr. Tuck,
My name is Lena Bercz and I am a 7th grade student at Nagel Middle School. Our class is working on a project where we "go back in time" and solve the Roman Empire's problems. While I was researching, I saw that you were an expert on ancient Rome. May I ask you a few questions about lead poisoning in the Roman Empire?
1. Did the Roman government know that lead poisoning was causing a lot of the sickness and deaths? If so, did they try to stop it?
2. How much of the population of Rome was contaminated?
3. What are some possibilities that Rome could have done to prevent this problem?
4. Lead was the main ingredient in many beauty products, pipes were made of lead, so were pots, eating utensils, and aqueducts were mostly lead. Did anyone suspect this of being a problem?
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Lena Bercz
ANSWERS:
No, no one knew lead was a toxin. Even if they did, the government had no authority to tell people what they could or couldn't make cooking pots and cups out of. Your assumption that lead poisoning was 'causing a lot of the sickness and death' has no good basis in the ancient sources. Far more likely it caused lower birth rates and intelligence. I haven't seen any evidence of deaths attributed to it.
2. How much of the population of Rome was contaminated?
No one knows. The only way to find out is expensive testing of human remains on a large scale. And that hasn't been done.
3. What are some possibilities that Rome could have done to prevent this problem?
By Rome if you mean the government, I don't think there was much. Change the waterpipes from lead, but they had no control over much of the commerce across the Roman world.
4. Lead was the main ingredient in many beauty products, pipes were made of lead, so were pots, eating utensils, and aqueducts were mostly lead. Did anyone suspect this of being a problem?
Aqueducts weren't lead. Waterpipes were and some larger channels were lead. No, no one seems to have suspected it was a problem. After all they even used it as an additive in wine making. So, it seems that no one knew it was a problem.
Best,
Steve Tuck
SOLUTION:
To solve ancient Rome's probblem of lead poisoning. I would first let the government know that this is going on.
CITATIONS
ROME
Wilford, John Noble. "ROMAN EMPIRE'S FALL IS LINKED WITH GOUT AND LEAD POISONING." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 1983. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Lead Poisoning and Rome." Lead Poisoning and Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
"Powered By Osteons." Lead Poisoning in Rome. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Jan. 2013.
CURRENT
"KidsHealth." Lead Poisoning. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
"Lead Poisoning: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, n.d. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.
"Lead Poisoning in Pregnant Women Who Used Ayurvedic Medications from India — New York City, 2011–2012." Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 24 Aug. 2012. Web. 18 Jan. 2013.